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Product Description

Product Description

It’s not human. Yet. From the producers of Dawn of the Dead comes the chilling prelude to John Carpenter’s cult classic film. When paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) travels to an isolated outpost in Antarctica for the expedition of a lifetime, she joins an international team that unearths a remarkable discovery. Their elation quickly turns to fear as they realize that their experiment has freed a mysterious being from its frozen prison. Paranoia spreads like an epidemic as a creature that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish in this spine-tingling thriller.

Amazon.ca

A masterful combination of gnawing paranoia and shockingly overt glop, John Carpenter's The Thing stands alongside David Cronenberg's The Fly at the absolute peak of remakes done right: movies that honor their source material, while following their own unique path. While this CGI-tricked-out prequel can't come close to equaling Carpenter's slow burn, it's by no means a disgrace, either. Much like Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead revamp (also produced by Strike Entertainment), this version of The Thing respects its predecessors, while amping up the action-movie rpm's. What it lacks in resonance, it mostly makes up for in enthusiasm. Set immediately before the events in 1982's film, the plot follows a Norwegian/American research team (including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, and Ulrich Thomsen, amusingly made up to resemble the eggheaded scientist in 1951's original The Thing from Another World) who stumble across the frozen remains of an alien spacecraft. One ill-advised defrosting later, and the dwindling crew find themselves facing a viral enemy that duplicates its prey. Making his feature debut, commercial director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. admirably attempts to replicate Carpenter's gliding camera and claustrophobic staging, with diminished yet still effective results. (Likewise the special effects, which, while inventively disgusting, lack the germy viscosity of Rob Bottin's landmark work.) Thankfully, the filmmakers do prove remarkably successful at recapturing its predecessor's sense of fatalistic xenophobia, with a slew of characters seemingly capable of Thinging out at any time. While the disquiet ultimately fades as the third-act explosions mount, this reverent redo succeeds to a degree that might give even scoffing purists a goose bump or two. Keep watching the skies, and stick around during the end credits. --Andrew Wright

Most helpful customer reviews

Well, at least they choose to go the prequel route instead of yet another dreaded remake. Two of my major complaints: first, the lack of suspense that made John Carpenter's The Thing so memorable. If you've seen a commercial for this film then you already know the fate of at least five of the characters, there's no sense of mystery or paranoia. It also fails to sustain suspense by giving the alien too much screen time, it is constantly revealing itself for some reason. Secondly, the effects. The CGI doesn't create that disgusting organic mess that chills your blood when you think back to the 1982 version. They might be good effects, but it just doesn't feel "real". On the plus side, the acting is all solid and the whole thing is polished and stylish. And it is interesting to see the story of what happened at the Norwegian station, though it could've easily been left to the imagination. All in all, it was an entertaining movie that tries to stay faithful to the 1982 The Thing, but will never hold a candle to its predecessor.

Okay, first off, I have no real problem, in principle, with the recent spate of Hollywood revisits to older material. There are bad remakes and good remakes, just as there are good original ideas and bad original ideas. That a film is a remake does not immediately make it bad (Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a case in point). I ask only that the new movie offer something truly new to prove its worth and right to existence.

This is actually a fairly tall order, given that the movies Hollywood chooses to remake tend to have been good ones to begin with, and so difficult to improve upon. The huge advances in technology, though, allow current filmmakers to jazz up even the most expertly designed originals, especially those movies that relied, all those years ago, on cutting edge special effects--movies like John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing.

And let's be honest, Carpenter's The Thing is considered a modern classic only due to its special effects--special effects which were undeniably impressive for that time. It was not an especially suspenseful movie, despite the paranoia inspired by the creature's shape-shifting abilities, and it was far from subtle, giving the alien plenty of camera time. But those special effects were pretty damn cool, especially for '82.

Oh, and let us not forget: Carpenter's The Thing was, itself, a remake. It was based upon a 1951 movie titled The Thing from another World. Both movies were based on a novella, Who Goes There?, by John W. Campbell. That oldest of the movies took a slightly different approach to the source material, eliminating the alien's shape-shifting abilities, and giving it the appearance of, well, Frankenstein's monster. The 1951 and 1982 versions share only a basic premise.Read more ›

People who rate this movie at less than 3 stars don't know what they are talking about and if you enjoy the genre, it is about an 8/10. Remember that the 1982 Thing had HORRIBLE reviews when it came out and the movie lost money at a time with no blurays or home theater(and today, everyone says it was genius). The mood and visual style is essentially a copy of 30 days of Night, not a bad style for this type of movie. The movie makes an honest effort in the story (these stories rarely stick together THAT well) and the acting is very good. The best part of the movie is the tension amoung the different characters gives the movie its 8 on 10 and the actual creature effects makes me understand why someone would give it only 3 stars. Still, solid movie (in its genre). Of course they will overcharge for the purchase, so I suggest you rent. In the genre, it is definitely a top 20 of the 21st century (though there isn't much competition).

...The trend to re-visit Science Fiction classics with the hopes to re-kindle the franchise and create a new audience generation has produced two similar prequels in recent times. Ridley Scott's return to his Alien mythology, and this new version of the Thing, attempting to explain the events preceeding John Carpenter's remake of a Sci-Fi Classic. The film involves the first research crew who discover the alien ship which had crash-landed in Antarctica centuries earlier, and the imminent terror which is unleashed. Most of the details weave well with the Carpenter version to bridge the two stories, however this offering lacks the clausterphobic paranoia of the former film and relies instead on the Fear factor of shock effects and gore. The charcter development is lacking to the point where the team members are really only there to add to the body count, leaving the only sympathetic character, the female lead ( much like Ripley in Alien ), to carry the film. A nice touch is actually at the film's end, where the Director re-creates the opening scenes of the Carpenter Film, complete with the haunting Morricone score. Still, a worthwhile watch for the interested Sci-Fi fan, just don't expect the film to explore any new Frozen Fears...

I had the original The Thing with Kurt Russell and had viewed it a number of times.I wanted this one which is classed as a prequel and wasn't disappointed.There's lots of action and I plan on viewing this movie again in time.Any movie that's good enough to view again and again kind of says it all.I'm happy with the purchase and would recommend it to my friends.